By Angela Yokota, Director of Enrollment Management
Each week, I greet prospective families coming to Hillbrook for the first time. They are often nervous, not sure what to expect of the campus visit, and yet, you can see the magic of Hillbrook impact them the minute they walk on campus. For many, these visits become a major reason why they choose Hillbrook.
I think most of us remember the first time we saw the school and our own “wow” moment taking it all in. There is a palpable sense of wonder at the sheer beauty and green space at Hillbrook. In a glance, you see students running through the Village of Friendly Relations, playing in the JK-2nd playground, and walking across the bridge to middle school. Teachers and staff are smiling and happily going about their day. Even the youngest Hillbrook students confidently and independently walk and run around the 14-acre campus. You might hear a child shout “hello” to Chef Junior, or stop to chat with the chickens.
On a typical admissions visit, we will tour 4-8 classrooms and week after week, tour after tour, the classroom moments we observe are little slices of Hillbrook magic. They see students sitting in wiggle chairs at whiteboard tables, writing on those same tables, and fully interacting with the curriculum. Hillbrook classrooms are active places where students are engaged and challenged, and the work is hands-on. We might walk into a class in the midst of a Socratic seminar, debating a recent reading. Or, we might walk into middle school science, where students are discovering whether a nitrogen balloon is flammable. We watch younger students sharing their writing with peers, learning how to play the xylophone, tackling challenging math equations, or making a mini movie in Mandarin.
Clearly, there is a lot to love about Hillbrook, but the true value of the school isn’t one magical moment; it’s the cumulative effect of this nurturing, inspiring environment on children. Hillbrook is an on-going choice, not a one-time decision when we are admitted to the school. Every year when we sign our re-enrollment agreements we are choosing an extraordinary educational experience, in some cases instead of a new car, a vacation home or other luxuries. Growing up at Hillbrook is a gift we give our children.
Choosing Hillbrook means…
Choosing Community: Children are known by name and valued for who they are. Parents are known and supported as part of the broader Hillbrook community. All are invited to engage in a community that feels like an extended family. We feel it at Flag, on field trips, at parent gatherings, basketball games and service learning opportunities. We are sharing a journey together and treasuring this precious, yet fleeting time.
Choosing to be Challenged: Hillbrook is on the leading edge of elementary and middle school education and always innovating and looking forward. Our teachers engage students daily, meeting them where they are and challenging them to reach beyond their abilities and grow. Our teachers and staff are experts in their fields, regularly invited to share their knowledge and insight with educators at other school, and yet always challenging themselves to improve through curriculum audits, summer intensives, and weekly workshops. The spirit of a growth mindset is evident in every classroom. It lives in our students and our faculty, too.
Choosing to live our Core Values: At Hillbrook, we choose to be kind, be curious, take risks and be our best every day. Our children absorb these values and draw on them to reach new milestones, whether it’s telling their first joke at Flag, reaching out to a classmate feeling down, or mastering a new skill in math. Hillbrook students learn in big and little ways to reach beyond themselves, and they come to understand that they can and will make a difference in the world.
Thank you for choosing Hillbrook for your family. You help make our community extraordinary. Thank you for partnering with us in a child-centered, educational journey that flies by so quickly but is overflowing with joy.